PM orders halt to golf course construction at Tan Son Nhat airport

21:04 18/06/2017

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered the Ministry of National Defence to halt all construction works related to auxiliary infrastructure for a golf course, including a golf school, villas and luxury apartments, in the vicinity of Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The government leader also requested the Ministry of National Defence to check issues regarding the golf course’s investment, operation and management, especially land use in the airport.

In the past years, it is reported that the golf course lying within the boundaries of Vietnam’s busiest airdrome has hampered the airport’s expansion, the Government Office’s announcement cited the Prime Minister’s conclusion at a recent meeting on the construction of the golf course.

Prime Minister Phuc asked the Ministry of Transport to hire a foreign consultant to conduct a study of opening another runway at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in an effort to reduce overloading and raise its capacity to 45 million passengers a year. The survey should be sent to the PM within six months.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, aviation experts suggested the runway should be at least 2,600m long and the two runways should be 1,750m apart to ensure safety.

The Tan Son Nhat airport served 32 million passengers in 2016 even though its capacity was planned to be only 25 million per year until 2025.

The Prime Minister also urged relevant authorities to speed up work on Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai province. Even after Long Thanh goes on stream, Tan Son Nhat would continue operating.